June 26th & June 27th

The remainder of Wednesday was spent in domestic chores--putting away the groceries, unpacking, washing clothes, cleaning out the Jeep, etc.  Thursday morning, while it was still cool, we hiked up the cliff sheltering our little cove, which we've nicknamed 'Morris Mesa.'  It doesn't look that high from the RV park but gazing down from almost-the-top, we realized how far we'd ascended.  No discoveries of dinosaur tracks, Indian artifacts or rare wildflowers but we did get stunning views of Kanab to the south and Zion's white sandstone cliffs to the north.  And it also satisfied our curiosity as to 'what's up there?'.

 

From Morris Mesa,  Kanab to the south

 

 



 

 and Zion to the north.

 

In the afternoon, Fred worked out at the fitness center and Jan explored some of the shops before we had to attend a meeting of front desk staff at the lodge.  When we returned to the RV, it was suffocatingly hot, well beyond the ability of the A/C unit to cool even slightly.   With no shade at our site and temps of over 100* forecast for the next four days, we had to do something.  So we retracted the dinette slide on the passenger side to reduce the square-footage and eliminate windows on the east and west ends of the extension as well as the sky-lights in the ceiling.  We used sunshades from the 'eliminated' windows to insulate the rear and side windows in the bedroom.   Extending the awning and turning on a small fan each helped a bit.

After dinner we drove back to town for a talk at the BLM visitor center about the Spanish Trail.  In 1829 Armijo, attempting to establish a lucrative route between New Mexico and California, led 60 men and 100 mules across the seemingly impassable (and impossible) Cockscomb.  His plan was to trade New Mexican blankets and rugs for highly valued California mules and horses.  Recording only the briefest and sketchiest notes of his journey, Armijo's exact route is still to be determined.  A passage through the Cockscomb, perhaps near Armijo's, was used in the filming of the 1951 movie "Westward the Women."  The primary researcher mentioned that the actors and crew stayed at Parry Lodge and were bussed 65 miles to and from the shooting location each day.  The program was interesting and the presentation was effective and engaging.  It certainly deserved a larger audience than the seven us who attended.

Hurricane Hikes

Monday, June 25th
Day Off #1

In researching the area around Hurricane, UT we found references to Gould's Wash and Gould's Rim trails, both enthusiastically endorsed by mountain bikers.  We decided to hike part of the rim trail and evaluate it for ourselves.  Although the area was dry and desolate, the rim proved an interesting route with stunning vistas, unusual rock formations and little elevation change.  No shade and temps in the 90s led us to conclude this would definitely be more enjoyable in October than late June.  Getting back to the Jeep required battling a very strong headwind and took much longer than the out-bound trip.  Hot and dry and dusty, we headed for nice, long showers at the motel.

Gould's Rim Trailhead with

Pine Valley Mountains in background

 



Peaks of Zion peeking above the mesa

Tuesday, June 27th
Day Off #2

Back to Hurricane Hills to hike the Hurricane Canal trail that we had done in January, 2012.  In the past 18 months, some trail work and some new rockfalls had taken place but the long, steep descent from rim to river hadn't gotten any shorter or easier.  When we'd traveled about half way down, Fred realized he had left the GPS on the Jeep to acquire satellite signals.  He climbed to the top, retrieved the device, returned to me and we resumed.

 

Hurricane Canal Trailhead

 

Fred descending

 



When we reached the first rockfall, one we encountered in 2012, Fred was in the lead--until he stopped abruptly and stage-whispered, "Rattlesnake!"  Mr. Rattler, basking in the sun outside his den, had chosen a very narrow, no-other-options point in the trail for sunbathing. Our presence didn't inspire him to move so Fred tried tapping a on the ground with a long stick.  That must have irritated him because he rattled fiercely as he ducked under a rock uncomfortably close to the trail.  We gave him the widest berth possible and left the stick as a reminder to watch for snakes at that point on the way back.

Utah Midget Faded Rattlesnake

By-passing the next major rockfall requires descending from the canal, walking along a rudimentary road then scrambling over loose scree up to the canal.  We knew from prior experience that the collapsed tunnel which forces hikers to turn around  was only about 1/3 mile farther on.  So we opted to stay on the road, enjoy views of the Virgin River and look for a good spot for lunch.

 

 

Twin Falls

 



The hill down to the twin waterfalls was too steep but that shady place by the water a little further on was perfect.  Except it was on the far side of the river.  After twenty minutes trying to place enough rocks to hop across, we removed our shoes and waded.  We had left our shoes on the near bank so we weren't equipped to investigate the fossil-laden boulders nearby.



 

Fred on the trail, atop the outer wall of canal; canal is to his right

 



Walking back toward the trailhead was uneventful until we reached our rattlesnake-alert stick.  There he was--again!--smack-dab in the center of the space we had to cross.  He gave us a malicious rattle and slithered into his den, continuing the warning to keep our distance.

On the surface, back to the trailhead, Fred saw a lizard with unusual coloration standing on his rear legs with his front legs braced on a vertical rock.  He was nice enough to pose for several pictures, which let us identify him as a Black-Collared Lizard.

After cleaning up and cooling down, we went to the St. George BLM office to find out about some petroglyph sites we'd heard about.  Even though we didn't get the information we wanted, we enjoyed talking with the volunteer.  She and her husband had moved to SunRiver from Charlotte, NC in May, 2012 so we had lots of questions about their reasons, experiences and satisfaction. 

We finished the day with dinner salads and hot fudge sundaes at McDonald's and a little TV before lights-out at 10.  This morning was a stock-up trip at WalMart and back to Kanab.